Pippa mania: Why the fascination with Kate's younger sister?

Misty Harris, Postmedia News04.27.2012

Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches the doubles final on day eight of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 27, 2011.Glyn Kirk
/ AFP/Getty Images

Pippa Middleton attends the semifinal round match between Andy Murray of Great Britain and Rafael Nadal of Spain on Day Eleven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 1, 2011 in London, England.Clive Mason
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton attends the quarterfinal round match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France on Day Nine of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 29, 2011 in London, England.Julian Finney
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton (C) crosses the finish line during the GE Blenheim Triathlon at Blenheim Palace on June 4, 2011 in Woodstock, England.Chris Brunskill
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton attends the wedding of Katie Percy to Patrick Valentine at St Michael’s Church in Alnwick, Northumberland on February 26, 2011 in Alnwick, England. A friend of Prince William and Kate Middleton Lady Katie Percy, 28 who is the eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, will marry Patrick Valentine, 30, before a party at the family home Alnwick Castle.Chris Jackson
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives for a semifinal between Spanish player Rafael Nadal and British player Andy Murray at at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London on July 1, 2011.GLYN KIRK
/ AFP/Getty Images

Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton is an English party planner, socialite and sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The younger Middleton is one of the Most Fascinating People of the Year.Handout
/ Files

Pippa Middleton attends the semifinal round match between Andy Murray of Great Britain and Rafael Nadal of Spain on Day Eleven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 1, 2011 in London, EnglandClive Mason
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton attends the semifinal round match between Andy Murray of Great Britain and Rafael Nadal of Spain on Day Eleven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 1, 2011 in London, England.Michael Regan
/ Getty Images

(L-R) Carole and Michael Middleton, Pippa Middleton, parents and sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attend the men’s single quarter final between British player Andy Murray and Spanish player Feliciano Lopez during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London on June 29, 2011.GLYN KIRK
/ AFP/Getty Images

Pippa Middleton cheers during the Men’s Singles third round match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic on day four of the AEGON Championships at Queens Club on June 9, 2011 in London, England.Clive Brunskill
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton is seen at the front row during the Temperley runway show at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 at the British Museum on September 19, 2011 in London, England.Tim Whitby
/ Getty Images

Pippa Middleton (C), sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives for a semifinal between Spanish player Rafael Nadal and British player Andy Murray at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London on July 1, 2011.CARL DE SOUZA
/ AFP/Getty Images

Pippa Middleton approaches the finish line during the GE Blenheim Triathlon at Blenheim Palace on June 4, 2011 in Woodstock, England.Chris Brunskill
/ Getty Images

Catherine Middleton (R) her mother Carole and sister Pippa arrives at The Goring Hotel after visiting Westminster Abbey on April 28, 2011 in London, England. With less than 24 hours to go final preparations for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton are in place.Christopher Furlong
/ Getty Images

Laura Bailey, Peaches Geldof, Rosario Dawson and Pippa Middleton seen at the front row during the Temperley runway show at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 at the British Museum on September 19, 2011 in London, England.Tim Whitby
/ Getty Images

Prince Harry and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey following the wedding ceremony of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge on April 29, 2011 in London England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.Clara Molden
/ WPA Pool/Getty Images

Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton with brides maids and page boy make the journey by carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.Peter Jordan
/ WPA Pool/Getty Images

Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is interviewed moments after crossing the finish line of the 88th Vasaloppet cross country ski marathon in Mora on March 4, 2012.JONATHAN NACKSTRAND
/ AFP/Getty Images

Kate Middleton arrives to Westminster Abbey for her marriage to Britain's Prince William, in central London April 29, 2011.Reuters
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Pippa Middleton reacts after crossing the finish line during the GE Blenheim Triathlon at Blenheim Palace on June 4, 2011 in Woodstock, England.Chris Brunskill
/ Getty Images

Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton with bridemaid Lady Louise Windsor make the journey by carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following the marriage of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.Julian Finney
/ Getty Images

Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton and bridesmaid Margarita Armstrong-Jones arrive for the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding. (Photo byn -Joel Rya
/ WPA Pool/Getty Images

Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton seen during the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne is to be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will be attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.Clara Molden
/ Getty Images

Sister of the Bride and Maid of Honour Pippa Middleton and bridesmaid Margarita Armstrong-Jones ride in a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following the marriage of Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.Sean Gallup
/ Getty Images

A year after Kate Middleton became a royal, the person whose life has changed the most may actually be her sister.

Recently named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world, Philippa "Pippa" Middleton — younger sibling to the Duchess of Cambridge — has gone from being virtually unknown outside of Britain to one of the most photographed women on the planet. In fact, Google Canada reports that she has now surpassed Prince Harry as the most-searched royal sibling, at times even trumping Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber in terms of online interest.

The attention, however, hasn't come without a price.

"The absolutely remorseless attention she's getting is extraordinary," says Catherine Mayer, Time's Europe editor. "There was this feeling about Kate that she was a social climber, just out for getting the prince. But the moment she got engaged, the press that had been open in their snobbish hostility toward her immediately switched to Pippa."

This month especially, the 28-year-old has been Frankenstein's monster to the media's torch-bearing villagers, thanks to a bizarre series of events in Paris: first, her appearance at a risque costume party, then later having her male companion wave a gun — ultimately revealed as a toy — at their paparazzi pursuers.

An editor with the U.K. Sun went so far as to say the incident derailed all the "time, effort, money and logistics put into media-managing Kate."

But even before so-called Gungate, Mayer knew the younger Middleton's inclusion on Time's Most Influential list would be controversial, if only because the culture is so hard on females who don't come to power on their own steam.

"Women are massively underrepresented in the media. . . . Then, of course, when women do come to attention in public life, it's often for reasons that we may be inclined to think of as the wrong ones," says Mayer, hastening to note the double standard.

"Nobody would ever say we shouldn't have Kim Jong Un on the list just because he inherited North Korea."

Middleton first set tongues wagging at her sister's 2011 wedding to Prince William, in no small part due to a bridesmaid dress that made her more famous from the back than the front.

The next 11 months would see the launch of numerous fan sites dedicated to the socialite; speculation about a romance with Prince Harry; a handbag named "The Pippa"; her "royal mocha" tan dubbed the most desirable celebrity skin tone; a reported $600,000 publishing deal for a book on party-planning, due on shelves in October; and a six-figure bidding war for her first major television interview.

But not every royal-watcher is swept up in Pippa mania.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the fascination is, aside from the fact she's an attractive young woman with a connection to the royal family," says Josh Traptow, Alberta spokesman for the Monarchist League of Canada. "I also think it's a bit surprising that Pippa is leading such a public life, rather than being low-key — although I'm sure after this latest incident (in Paris), her sister and perhaps even Prince William will be having a little chat with her."

Lynne Bell, who has been covering royal tours in Canada for nearly 20 years, says Middleton has essentially become a proxy for the Duchess of Cambridge: she's similar in age, shares the same ladylike taste in fashion, and is the antithesis of the sleazy tabloid stars familiar to North American culture vultures.

"People are absolutely crazy for Kate," says Bell. "And, of course, the default is Pippa, who's still single."

Bell, a contributor to Majesty magazine, suggests the fact Middleton speaks so little in the press is part of her allure, as it "allows people to project onto her." This insight is consistent with Time's description of her as a latter-day Mona Lisa, always smiling mysteriously but known for keeping mum.

Certainly, there have been stumbles along the young woman's road to influence, from photos painting her as a party girl to the recent incident in France. But Bell believes these things to be comparatively tame next to the exploits of those other famous sisters, the Kardashians.

"No worries, Pippa," she says, laughing.

mharris@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/popcultini

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